It maybe a little cliche to say, but Gustav Holts "The Planets" is probably one of my favorites of all time!! Not 1000 % sure that's technically Classical though....
Oh, it sure is. I really like the Jupiter movement. Actually, Holst got kind of annoyed by the popularity of The Planets obscuring his other works.
Pipe organs. Need I say more? Lol this > J.S.Bach-Toccata e Fuga BWV 565-Karl Richter - YouTube is best ever (to me) :eusa_danc Pardon the silent 30 second intro...
Has there ever been composed more beautiful, more essentially-Spanish music than this? I think not. [YOUTUBE]PbNV9AwFFc8[/YOUTUBE]
I compose as well, mostly songs though, but I am currently in classical training and music theory classes. My favorite composer would have to be Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji... If anyone has heard his nocturnal pieces, wow. He is not that well known. My favorites would be "In the Hothouse" (which I play) and the second movement of his Fourth Piano Sonata, titled "Count Tasca's Garden." These pieces, as well as the rest of his œuvre, are breathtaking. Especially "Count Tasca's Garden," it is like having chocolate dripped into your ears... And he was gay, by the way. A wonderful composer.
OMG, Sorabji!! What an amazingly eccentric composer. His pieces are definitely not for every ear. He was a renowned champion of Alkan's music, who is one of my favorite "obscure" composers. Sooooooo jealous of your composition training!!!!
OMG I never thought someone would love Sorabji as well <3 And yes, Alkan is a wonderful composer as well, Sorabji really admired him! (*hug*)
Just been listening to Le Cygne - Saint Saens One of those pieces I like to enjoy with closed eyes - very peaceful and beautiful.
And speaking of organs and Chopin, I was recently reminded of Cameron Carpenter. While I don't always find myself in agreement with his interpretations of the classical organ repertoire, he is a prodigious talent. Here's his amazing organ transcription of Chopin's Revolutionary Etude. [YOUTUBE]wr9SXtvunwk[/YOUTUBE]
Joseph Haydn's String Quartets are neat. Been listening to them for the last hour. [YOUTUBE]wg4GDE3rCUg[/YOUTUBE]
<3 kindred spirits. Sorabji is unquestionably a musician's musician. His music is so obsessive in nature (Opus clavicembalisticum anyone?), it tends to frighten away all but the most studied listener. In this respect, his work bears kinship to the self-conscious explorations of Godowsky and Busoni. Whereas I think even a more recognizably-casual fan of the "genre", enamored of, say, Chopin's and Liszt's works, would be able to appreciate much of Alkan's output (Le festin d'Ésope, for example). How is your training going? Written anything Youtube-bound yet?
Listening to Luciano Berio's composition of Notturno (Quartetto III), a piece I have never listened to before, and came across by accident.
Oh, while I was browsing through the CD's with compositions by Haydn. The Berio's piece is part of a collection that includes Hadyn's works.
Amazing. No matter how many times I've listened to it (and it must have been several hundred times through the years), never get tired of Beethoven's "Waldstein" piano sonata: [YOUTUBE]ARCMRISD8vU[/YOUTUBE] Takes a special kind of genius to write something that transcends all overfamiliarity. But then, Beethoven :eusa_clap
Way back when my old piano teacher was doing her Master's, she had a whole philosophical turnaround triggered by Beethoven.